A uniform resource locator (URL) is a string of characters that defines a web address of a resource, such as a server. A computing device can accesses the resource using the URL, which is typically resolved to obtain an IP address of the resource. A URL can be static or dynamic. A static URL references a resource having a static state, e.g., a webpage that does not change unless the changes are hard-coded into the code of the webpage. In the event a resource referenced by a static URL is altered, the static URL does not change. A dynamic URL references a resource having dynamic states. A webpage that is database driven or that executes a dynamic script can be referenced by a dynamic URL. For example, a website that offers database driven search functionality may receive search terms from a requesting computing device and provide search results corresponding to the search terms in a dynamic webpage, e.g., a webpage having contents that depend on one or more changing parameters including the search terms. The dynamic URL of such a webpage may include a static portion that references the web server that hosts the webpage and a dynamic or variable portion that describes or references the parameters that were used to generate the contents of the dynamic webpage.
Dynamic URLs allow users to direct other users to a specific state of a resource. For example, if a first user accesses a search engine and searches for “Thai restaurants,” the search engine may utilize parameters such as the search terms and a location of the user's computing device to generate the search result. The search results may display results that include Thai restaurants that are in the vicinity of the first user and may generate a dynamic URL that includes the parameters used to determine the search results. In this way, the first user can send the dynamic URL to a second user, who can view the same search results by having a web browser access a webpage using the dynamic URL. In response to the web browser transmitting a web request to the web server referenced in the static portion of the dynamic URL, the web server can perform a search using the parameters identified in the variable portion of the dynamic URL and can provide the search results to the web browser.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.